An array of caravans or camping trailers are seen as a machine sprays mist into the cold air to make artificial snow at the campsite and create an ice rink for sleds pulled by Siberian huskies near Mount Odae National Park in PyeongChang, Monday. A total of 220 caravans will be operated until the end of the Olympics. / Korea Times

PyeongChang diversifies accommodation optionsBy Kang Hyun-kyungPYEONGCHANG -- Demand for accommodation in the small, quiet eastern county of PyeongChang has been surging as clocks are ticking for the Winter Olympic Games.No rooms are available in five-star hotels as they are fully booked, and it's almost impossible to find cozy inns or hostels near the Olympic stadiums.The situation for accommodation will be even more competitive once the Olympics kick off on Feb. 9 when the grandiose Opening Ceremonies will be held.In the face of soaring demand for accommodation, PyeongChang has diversified options to meet every need of Olympic tourists.Caravans are the newest accommodation type introduced there to treat Olympic tourists seeking to squeeze outdoor activities into their itinerary during their visit to PyeongChang. A caravan refers to a camper trailer towed behind a vehicle to provide a place to sleep comfortably.Near the front gate of Mount Odae National Park in the countryside town of Jinbu, 220 caravan trailers are ready for travelers. It is the only campsite around the national park area.It's a home away from home. Inside the trailer is warm and cozy. It has all the basic facilities in a 13.22-square-meter space ? three beds (one double and two single beds), a tea table with two chairs where people can sip coffee or drinks and a shower room with a toilet. Cooking facilities are set up there but cooking is restricted throughout the Olympics for fear of fire. However, microwave ovens and coffee pots are permitted.Lee Ji-hwan, the owner of the campsite and CEO of the Horeb Odaesan Youth Training Center, recommends camping trailers for foreign tourists who want to have a sneak peek into the real Gangwon lifestyle. "It may sound like a crazy idea to camp here in PyeongChang in February because the temperature here is lower than any part of the country," he said. The Olympics will open on Feb. 9 and continue until Feb. 25, which will be followed by Paralympic Games in March. Temperatures will go below zero in the early morning and late night."But quite a number of people enjoy camping during wintertime," Lee said. "Interestingly, the number of winter campers is increasing. We close the campsite during wintertime but these days I get a number of calls from people who would ask if they can camp here. Camping is increasingly popular."The number of campers in Korea has increased sharply in the past decade. The number of registered camping vehicles stood at 6,768 as of June 2016, a 20-fold increase from 2007. There are 1,200 camping sites all across the country and an estimated 5 million of Koreans are believed to have camping experience.Nam Jee-hoon, the operator of camping trailers near Mount Odae National Park, said camping is popular all year round, except March and November. He has operated camping trailers in the southeastern city of Gimhae."We're concerned about the possible shortage of accommodation during the Olympics as there were media reports about soaring accommodation fees in PyeongChang and some inns even cost 900,000 won ($850) per night during the Olympics," said Song Heon-seog, a publicist for the PyeongChang Olympics organizing committee. "We, the organizing committee, welcomed the caravan operator with open arms when he told us he would operate caravans here because it would help Olympic tourists have a wider selection of accommodations."There are several tourist attractions near the Mount Odae National Park where the caravans are located.The historic Woljeong Temple, which was established in 643 during the Silla Dynasty, is a 20-minute walk away. The temple has Templestay programs all year around. There's a nine-kilometer hiking course connecting the temple and Sangwon Temple located deeper in the Mount Odae region.Major tourist attractions in the eastern province of Gangwon, such as the waterfront city of Sokcho and Gyeongpo Beach, are 30 minutes away by car. Convenience to the Olympic stadiums is another merit. The campsite is located near the Kensington Hotel, one of the stops of the shuttle bus to all Olympic stadiums."One can feel the nature and fresh air as the campsite is surrounded by Mount Odae. Travelers can also heal their bodies at the temple. The fir forest nearby provides tourists with a nice hiking experience," Nam said.About 150 caravan trailers were already booked while the other 70 were available for reservation, according to Nam at the time of interview. A caravan costs 230,000 won ($210) per night. The rustic county of PyeongChang will be unprecedentedly crowded during the Olympics as 230,000 people are expected to visit. The foreign population there will far outnumber the locals ? the population of PyeongChang is merely 43,000.About a third of the foreign visitors will be Olympic tourists, according to Korea Tourism Organization. The rest are athletes representing 95 countries for the Olympics and 45 countries for the Paralympic Games and staff involved in Olympic affairs, including staffers from the International Olympic Committee.Accommodation emerged as a headache last year for the organizing committee and Gangwon Province.The source of the problem was greedy owners, not a shortage of accommodation.There are approximately 1,500 places to stay? hotels, condos, inns and guest houses ? in PyeongChang and nearby Gangneung where ice hockey and skating events are to take place.Some owners tried to take advantage of the Olympics to multiply their profits and offer extremely high fees. They suffered the consequences of their greed. Reservation rates hovered at merely 10 percent as of December.The opening of the express train between Seoul and Gangneung dealt a blow to the selfish owners of accommodation. The train has dramatically cut travel time between the two cities to 1 hour and 50 minutes, enabling Olympic tourists to consider day tours to the Olympic cities.Gangwon Province also took the soaring accommodation fees seriously. In December, the provincial government announced it would crack down on owners who overcharge their customers. The local government said it would investigate if inflated fees are reported, and if violations are found it would hold owners accountable. Competition among hotels also played a part in bringing the exorbitantly high fees back to normal. The provincial government launched a website through which tourists can book hotels, inns and guesthouses. Owners post the availabilities of rooms with suggested prices. As travelers were better able to compare prices suggested in their search, owners came to lose temptation to hike prices.